Tokyo, Japan- July 22, 2015: Voyage Group (VG), Research Panel Asia’s (RPA) parent company and Marketing Applications, Inc. (MApps) disclose plans to exchange shares whereby RPA will become a wholly owned business unit of MApps.

Release Overview

The deal takes effect on July 22, 2015 and means that VG will exchange 100% of its shares in RPA to MApps for a 35.61% stake in MApps. RPA, established in 2009 as a subsidiary of VG, is a full service provider of high-quality panels with over 4 million active panelists. The firm offers proprietary coverage in 11 countries in Asia.

About MApps

MApps, based in Tokyo, was established in September of 2006 as a “Marketing Intelligence Platform Company”- with its key strength being technology and engineering. The company’s two key products currently are “Marketing Applications for Analysis”- a cloud based analytics tool and “Marketing Applications for Survey”- an online survey platform which holds a majority share of the domestic (Japan) research business market. MApps also owns a large consumer panel in Japan and has panels in other Asian countries.

Consolidation in the Industry

The announcement comes at a time when other mergers and acquisitions have been announced in the market research industry. This is especially true in Asia, where firms align themselves to gain a competitive advantage in one of the hottest economic regions in the world.

Message from the CEOs

“As online market research becomes more automated and technology based, companies are merging to strengthen and the industry is becoming more and more competitive” said Mr. Ikuo Hagino (pictured, left). “Our two companies together will be uniquely positioned to be an industry leader now and in the future” he continued.

Mr. Masahiro Takanohashi, the CEO of RPA (pictured, right) shared his excitement by stating “This business decision lets MApps and RPA leverage each organization's strength and assets, including sales hubs, customer bases, products, technology, and panel assets. This will enable us to further grow the business globally and increase client satisfaction.”

What the Future Holds

For the time being, MApps will retain its name in Japan, where it is the dominant force in the market. Research Panel Asia, Inc. and MApps’ global assets will be collectively rebranded into a new entity that will be announced shortly. With RPA's strong global team and MApps' cutting edge analytics tool and survey platform, the deal may position the company as a global industry leader.

# # #

For more information, please visit:  http://www.researchpanelasia.com
Media Contact: Mr. John G. Crum, john_crum@researchpanelasia.com